Local brigade celebrates 140-year milestone

GEELONG West Fire Brigade is celebrating a historic anniversary with the local unit reaching 140 years of service.

The brigade, first formed in 1883, held its annual dinner and award presentation last Saturday attended by CFA board member Beth Davidson, CFA assistant deputy chief officer South West Adrian Gutsche, captain Paul Cockerill and members from neighbouring brigades.

Mr Cockerill said it was a great community gathering of people to celebrate the rich history of the brigade.

“It was wonderful to hear the colourful stories about the brigade shared around the room.

“I’ve been a member of the brigade since 1998 and to me, the brigade has always been about giving back to the community and protecting our local area.

“It’s really rewarding to be part of a welcoming, tight-knit group that has community safety front-of-mind.

“Our brigade is strong and active and many of our members have made life-long friendships during and after their time with the brigade, which is a testament to sort of people who’ve been part of our history.”

Geelong West Fire Brigade currently has 56 members and attend close to 240 incidents each year.

The station operates one pumper, one tanker and one forward command vehicle.

Group delegate Brendan Robertson said the brigade’s history was vast, and he had personally been impressed by how far firefighting safety equipment and technology has come.

“When looking back at photos of myself at fires decades ago, I noticed I was wearing jeans and sometimes sneakers, and it’s amazing to reflect on how much has changes and how great our gear is now.

“You wouldn’t dream of being at a fire now without the proper safety gear, which is so important.

“I’m very impressed with the leadership of the brigade.

“They have a group that is active and passionate about doing the right thing for their community.”

This year also marks 25 years since the tragic loss of five Geelong West firefighters in the Linton fire of 1998.

The brigade will mark the anniversary later this year with a memorial service open to the public.

The event will honour the lives of Christopher Evans, Jason Thomas, Matthew Armstrong, Stuart Davidson and Garry Vredeveldt.